2 year old being sent home from childminder for reflux

[mrjaz]

I think our childminder is being OTT. An honest opinion would be most appreciated.

Our 2 year old daughter brought sone milk up on Tuesday morning before going to our childminders, it was just a bit of reflux which often happens when she's teething. She was her normal lively self and we were convicted it wasn't a bug.

Within 2 hours of being at the childminders, our daughter was sent home with a suspect sickness bug for 2 episodes of reflux. As soon as she walked through the door she was her normal lively self.

This happened on Tuesday and the childminders sickness policy is no return within 48 hours, which I would have thought is Thursday but she is now saying that our daughter cannot return until Friday eve though she is as fit as a fiddle. Plus we have lost 20 hours of childcare that has been paid for and time off work.

Thanks for reading, some feedback would be very welcome?

Well tbh it might well have looked like a vom bug. Three sicks 'n' all.

48 hours would be mid morn Thurs...

Reflux is rare in 2yrs so maybe she thought was a bug And agree 48hrswouid be 2 days off so back Friday

Cm can't risk bugs as then if she is off ill you need to find Childcare and she loses income

And yes if they are ill you will lose childcare /hours /poss be unpaid

Only guaranteed way is prevent this is to have A nanny who will still look after sick children

Dd suffers from reflux / excessive gag reflex and is 5! However, she is under a paed for it and we have a note from them for nursery when she was there and now school to say what her usual pattern of sickness is for her condition rather than a vomiting bug.

However, she's never been to a childminder and I think you have to be mindful that a childminder is on their own - if they catch a bug (potentially) then they are screwed.

I'm surprised though you've never discussed this with your CM. Tbh with dd even now it's one of the first things I'd explain and get clarification on from anyone who was looking after her because tbf 'normal' kids aren't sick often unless there is a contagious bug.

Oh and 48 hours is 48 hours so eg d's was sick at home time on the MONDAY and he was off until the Thursday.

This is a standard policy &, if your DD doesn't usually suffer from reflux, the cm isn't in a position to do a view whether it was reflux or a bug.
DS suffered reflux as a baby. Nursery were fully aware of this when he started there at 11mo as DC1 was at the same nursery and he'd often spit up at drop off or pick up or he or I would have a smear of sick on us. When he started at 11mo, they would keep him even if he was sick provided that it fell within his "pattern" of sickness. By about 15mo, he grew out of the reflux.

At about 2yrs, DS developed a trick of coughing when he was upset in a way which was effectively retching and could make himself sick. On the first two occasions, nursery sent him home & the 48 hour rule applied both times. I explained what I thought was going on, they paid a bit more attention & after that he wasn't sent home if sick but, again, only if it fell within this pattern. Any doubt (including, once, because a child in the room had been sick that morning so there was concern a bug might be going around) then he got sent home.
The reason for telling you all of this is that some childcare providers can be flexible around this rule but only in limited circumstances.

Is she on medication?

48 hours is what it says. On the first occasion DS was sent home having made himself sick, he did it mid-morning & I had the exact time of the phone call from nursery as they had called my mobile. There had been no subsequent vomiting episodes & no diarrhoea so I was on the doorstep mid morning 48 hours later. They were a bit surprised as I think people tend to interpret it as the day & subsequent two days or, if you have organised additional childcare for the final day, you may as well have the childcare all day but I had arranged with work to work from home so had shoved DS in front of Peppa for an hour or two, dropped him off & then went back home & carried on working.

48 hours is 48 hours and I'm more than happy to have a child dropped off half way through a day of that's when 48 hours is up. As mentioned above, you need to meet to discuss the pattern of sickness. I have cared for children with reflux and sickness outside the normal pattern would mean them being sent home. Also sickness within the normal pattern, but accompanied by other symptoms would result in a phone call.

I have other children to care for, some with complex medical needs, who would not want to catch a sickness bug. Also as mentioned, if I catch it then no one has any childcare and I have no income.

Why are you so sure it isn't a bug? Some children do seem fine after being sick - it doesn't make them any less contagious.

Unless you can prove absolutely, without a doubt, that this is not a tummy bug, then your childminder is right to exclude your child. Vomiting and diarrhoea can be very serious in young children and she's making the best decision for all the children in her care and for her family.

Dc can be puking like crazy then immediately be bright and full of energy so perfectly possible it's a bug, especially as reflux is rare in 2yos and she's had 3 episodes.
To be fair, dd1 had one reflux of clear liquid and was fine so I sent her to school. Dd3 apparently did the same at nursery but they didn't think much of it so only told me when I collected her and that evening dd2 started full scale tummy bug and ended up hospitalised as she was a toddler and was seriously dehydrated. The same bug can affect different children differently. I imagine a cm can't take the risk of infecting other dc or herself - presumably she won't get paid if she's ill?

I think this is such a difficult situation to be in with a refluxer. My 2.5 year old has moved from frequent vomit reflux to silent reflux as he has grown but still has flares and will vomit when cutting teeth or if he has a cold. This can then really confuse the situation with regards to stomach bugs.

I think you will need to discuss with your childminder (if you haven't already) your DD's typical pattern of vomiting and the amount of sick that is to be expected. Anything outside of this pattern including extra sick from teething/cold or indeed a stomach bug should mean your DD is kept at home as its not worth the risk of the CM or other children in their care getting ill.

Is your DD on any particular meds? We find an increase in meds when going through a flare usually helps to decide whether we're dealing with a stomach bug or just pure reflux.